Archive for April 2017

We just received word from the bindery that BOTHVolume One and Volume Two of the FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY are complete and ready for delivery!!! Woo-hoo!

The plan is to place the Secret Moon Base in the care of Agent Randall and Woola (our Attack Tuxedo Calot), when we depart for this weekend’s Windy City Pulp and Paper Show in Chicago. We’ll make a Cochrane-breaking maneuver and stop at the bindery to pick up as much inventory as the SUVCometcan carry and then on to Chicago.There, we’ll unveil MURDER DRAWS A CROWD and DEATH IN THE DARK. If you preordered and will be at the show, you can pick up your copies at the Haffner Press display. Once we return from Chicago, we’ll pick up the remainder of the print-run from the bindery and startinventory-staging. As many of you know, these books were first announcedwaaaaaay back in Fall 2011. It’s been a long-time pulling all the materials together (truly a global effort!) and we probably hit every bump imaginable in getting from 2011 to 2017.That said, we hope you really, really enjoy these books. For readers of vintage detective/mystery fiction, these collections are a goldmine. To Fredric Brown collectors–old and new–these volumes should reward your patience and dedication. At 744 pages each, there isn’t too much more we could squeeze between the covers. Let us know what you think (there may even be prizes!).
So, you know the drill: Order from the links below and if you buy both booksbefore we stage the inventory back at the Secret Moon Base, you’ll receive the exclusive “V.O.N. Munchdriller” bookmark. *Oh. Squee.*

One more thing before we sign-off: If you preordered either (or both!) of these titles since 2011 and your address has changed, please let us know ASAP!!! We try to keep our mailing database current, but we only know where you are if you tell us!!

That’s it, fellow-astrogators. Stand back while we fire up the rocket-tubes in the ol‘ Comet. Next stop: Chicago!

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2017! Three months of 2017 are already gone and we’re here to show you what we’ve been up to during that time.

• • FREDRIC BROWN UPDATE • •

If you were walking past a certain coffee shop in Clawson, Michigan last week, you might have glimpsed these in the front window:

This means that the first two volumes of the FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY MURDER DRAWS A CROWD and DEATH IN THE DARKhave been at the bindery long enough to generate proofing materials for both books! In our last newsletter, we shared that Volume One (MURDER DRAWS A CROWD) needed very little updating to make it ready for the new printer. As for Volume Two (DEATH IN THE DARK), the delay has turned out to be the die-hard Fredric Brown-collector’s dream! Not only has enough water gone under the bridge to make the 2nd volume ready—we’ve used the time to uncover two additional “Colonel Cluck” columns from Independent Salesman magazine as well as identified the true source of Brown‘s “Willie Skid“columns. We haveverified that instead of Ford Dealer Service Bulletin (a phantom title it turns out) the “Willie Skid” columns appeared in the magazine Ford Dealer & Service Field. Does this really matter? Well, if it means more newly discovered Fredric Brown “Willie Skid” stories, you bet it does! If all goes well, our next newsletter will let you know that we have finished copies of both Vols. One and Two of FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY in hand and that order processing is under way. Meanwhile, to pry loose some shekels from those of you have haven’t placed your preorders for both volumes, we’ll will take this moment to announce a . . .

• • NEW FREDRIC BROWN PREORDER ITEM • •

Some materialuncovered during the assembly of the first two volumes of FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY didn’t make the cut and will appear in future collections. However, this little nugget about Brown’s “V.O.N. Munchdriller” character was too good not to be shared alongside these early volumes. So, if you’ve already placed your prepaid orders forVolume One (MURDER DRAWS A CROWD)andVolume Two (DEATH IN THE DARK) then you’re already set up to receive this exclusive bookmark.*If you want this exclusive item, all you have to do is order both titles—or if you’ve already ordered one volume, place an order for the other title—and we’ll make sure your books ship with this little curiosity as a special THANK YOU for getting in early on the FREDRIC BROWN MYSTERY LIBRARY.*This item will not be available after publication, so do not delay!

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• • ROBERT BLOCH CENTENNIAL — TODAY! • •.

Robert Bloch was born 100 years ago today in Chicago, IL. We have been working for the better part of three years on a REALLY fun and exciting Robert Blochproject. It’s too soon to share any details except to say: it’s not going to take too big a bite out of your pocketbook. Or maybe it will, who can say.Meanwhile, check out the blogs of Todd Mason and Patricia Abbot. Todd and Patti have spent the better part of two weeks soliciting and harvesting a plethora of online journals, blogs, and research sites dedicated to the talents of this wonderfully entertaining gentleman.

Robert Bloch was a giant among giants in his field and his work continues to be shared and enjoyed by admirers around the world. We look forward to sharing more about our contribution to his impressive oeuvre very soon.

THE WATCHER AT THE DOOR:THE EARLY KUTTNER, VOLUME TWO
Edited by Stephen HaffnerPreface by Robert A. Madle
Introduction by Dr. Garyn G. Roberts712-page smythe-sewn hardcover

We’re still getting good reviews and steady orders for what LOCUS magazine calls: “[a] huge collection [that] is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. But, wow, is it ever fun.”

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